Background: Palestinian youth are some of the most politicized youth in the world. However, years of exploitation of young people's efforts by political factions and failure to deliver any significant political change has led many of today's youth to withdraw from political participation. Youth disillusionment with political and social participation has negatively impacted other areas of society, including the decline of broader civic and social participation among Palestinian young people in recent years.

Project Summary: Through a network of 34 Youth Local Councils, Sharek aims to cultivate a culture of democracy and good governance in Palestine, promoting youth engagement in decision-making, policy setting, and democratic processes in local government. These YLCs will engage closely with their local government partner (Municipality or Local Council), in order to provide the youth perspective, as well as act as a check on their government. By enhancing youth representation at this scale, this will strengthen democratic ideas and values among youth. Over time, these YLCs will be extended to further locations across the West Bank through democratic and transparent elections.

Statistics:

• 34 YLCs across the West Bank
• 13,000 youth are currently involved in YLCs
• In a recent survey, 50% of youth said they would rather stay at home than engage in politics
• Only 7% surveyed said they make their own decisions, and 35% said their parents make decisions for them.
• 18% of youth said they would definitely not participate in elections.